17.05.12

Utah's Capitol Hill continues to wrestle with the state's relationship to alcoholic beverages. And so far lawmakers are losing.

Recently a legislative panel heard a consulting firm recommend ways to bring in more revenue from state-run liquor stores. Among the steps, Bob Springmeyer suggested that retail outlets be opened closer to centers of retail business -- for example, opening liquor outlets next to supermarkets.

"I don't think the liquor should be sold next to apples and pears and other food items," Springmeyer said. "It should be sold in a separate location on the property. Separate entrance and separate cashiers." A similar arrangement can be seen at stores in Wyoming.

As the old saying goes, in retail business, the three most important things are "location, location, location." A business wants to be as convenient as possible for customers. Someone who has just bought food for dinner wants to buy a bottle of wine to go with it, and probably doesn't want to go far to do so. Locating the outlets close to supermarkets likely would boost revenue. The state needs the money, and the troubled Department of Alcoholic Beverage control needs to display more successes.

Source: Daily Herald